The Risks We Take
by NorthernMage
Summary: Set during "Secrets Beyond The Fog". Ash didn't get it. How could he be so calm about it? His friend had been hurt - maybe badly hurt - and he acted like it was normal! In which Ash asks N about the healing pool in the forest.
**Um. Hi. Sorry for disappearing for about three months, life and a new fandom (I didn't know Undertale could take over my life so easily...) kind of combined to stop me. Also, I've been making a cosplay to wear, so that's taken up time as well.**

 **In any case, I've actually had this idea for a while, so I hope it's come out alright. *sighs* N can be really painful to write for, okay? I haven't seen the anime in a while.**

 **The basic idea was that the healing pool seemed very convenient, and also Anthea and Concordia seemed to have an established routine for finding N badly injured. I personally didn't know how to feel about that.**

 ***Just wanted to say that I've been having problems even getting this into the Doc Manager, so if it's got strange formatting then sorry. I had to go a different way about uploading than I preferred.**

 **I don't own Pokemon.**

 _General POV_

'Uh, hey N?'

'Hm?' N turned around from where he had just put his hat down. It was late in the afternoon, and Ash, Iris and Cilan had already been at the house for a few hours. It had been a pretty long day, honestly. They'd gone to Driftveil City, and he'd tried to help those Pokemon, but it hadn't worked out...at least, not in the way N would have liked.

Getting hit by those attacks wasn't exactly ideal. He hadn't wanted to pass out, but everyone seemed fine now, and he was more than used to it. _I guess I can't complain_ _. I'm fine now, after all._

Ash looked at him worriedly. 'Could I talk to you about something?'

'Of course. Come in.' The younger boy entered the room, and looked around curiously. The room was fairly simple, a bed taking up the majority of the room. There was a small chest of drawers next to the bed. Only a few items rested on the top, and Ash wondered whether it was all that N owned. He'd heard what had happened with Team Plasma and where N had grown up - maybe this was all that was left. Among the items he could see a bag with medical supplies in it that were used to react Pokemon, a thick book, the bracelets, necklace and hat that he always saw N wearing, and there was a thin grey device that he saw underneath the pile of bracelets and the necklace.

It looked like he had walked in on N when he had been about to change his clothes...

'Sorry, were you going to change? I can come back later, it was just a question...'

'No, no, it's fine.' Ash went to sit next to N on the bed. 'What did you want to ask?' Ash fell silent for a moment.

 _'Charizard and Dragonite will be severely injured if this keeps up.'_

 _'No way!'_

 _..._

 _N ran towards the crazed Pokemon, throwing his arms out to either side as if to protect Ash, Iris, Cilan, Looker and Haxorus' trainer._

 _'Stop it! For your own good, stop attacking!'_

 _Attacks soared towards the teen, and before he had time to let out a scream, they threw him into the air. He landed heavily on the ground, covered in scratches. His head hit the ground hard, knocking him unconscious._

 _'N! No!'_

 _..._

 _Fog wafted around them, and the group looked up as four figures, two Pokemon and two human, emerged from the fog. As the pink-haired one gestured to Gothitelle, a green light surrounded N, lifting him up into the air. As they cried out in surprise, the Pokemon began pulling him in the direction of the two women as they walked off._

 _'Let's follow them!'_

 _..._

 _They stood around the pool as N floated in the water, confused as to what could be going on._

 _'Who are you?' Cilan asked, but was unanswered._

 _The water glowed brightly, and as all the injuries that had been dealt by the Pokemon disappeared, N slowly opened his eyes._

 _'Anthea? Concordia?'_

Ash looked up at his friend with a worried look in his eyes.

'N, do you...do you usually get this badly hurt?' N blinked.

'What do you mean? I'm fine.' Ash made a face.

'That's...well, that's the problem.' N frowned as Ash continued. 'Back in Driftveil, you got hit by two high-powered Pokemon. There was that Haxorus, and Dragonite too! I saw you get thrown to the ground, N. You...' Ash looked down at himself. 'You keep acting like all this is normal, but you were really badly hurt! I know you're healed by that pool, but how many times has it gotten to the point where you need to use it?!'

N stared. 'Ash, this is what I have to do. You know what I think of Team Plasma. They're monsters. They were hurting Pokemon and I had to do something. It doesn't matter if I need to use the pool or not. So long as they're safe, I...I don't really mind.'

 _Sure, it would be nice if I wasn't injured, but that's not an option. If I have to handle Team Plasma head-on, these things will happen._

'You terrified us.' Ash mumbled, causing N to turn to him in shock.

'What do you mean? Ash, I'm fine, I promise! Whenever I get hurt, I just come back here and heal.' Ash was trembling.

'N, I - I didn't know if you were going to be okay or not! Maybe you did, but none of us did! All we saw was you get hit directly by two crazed, powered-up Pokemon, and hit the ground with enough force to knock you unconscious! You weren't moving at all, you were just lying there!' N looked at him for a long moment before sighing.

'Ash. Look at me.' The younger boy turned to him, eyes full of hurt. 'Ash,' N said carefully, gently, 'you don't need to worry about me. I've been doing this almost since Anthea, Concordia and myself left the mansion we lived in two years ago. If I get badly hurt, like today, they just show up and bring me back here. This is probably the safest place in all of Unova, regarding Team Plasma's ability to track us. They don't find us here, I just swim a little bit,' Ash cracked a smile at the wording, 'and before long I'm back hunting down Team Plasma. It's foolproof enough that I would trust it to save me, and in fact I do. I trust their ability to save me enough to justify risking myself in situations like you saw today.' He smiled.

Ash looked away. 'You shouldn't need to use it so often! Why not just be more careful when you're following Team Plasma?' N sighed.

'Ash, why aren't you more careful when you're battling? You have to take your Pokemon to Pokemon Centres all the time. You really shouldn't be using them that often!'

'N, I do the best I can!' Ash retorted, angered. 'My Pokemon trust me, and they know the risks. They enjoy staying with me, and battling! I...I try really hard to take care of them.' His face fell. He looked hurt. N felt a sting of guilt, seeing his expression, and looked away for a moment before speaking.

'I know you try as hard as you can to take care of your Pokemon.' he told the boy. 'What I'm trying to explain to you is that just as you try as hard as you can to not need Pokemon Centres, I don't exactly plan on getting hurt either when I run into Team Plasma.' He sighed. 'It just...happens. You just heal, and...move on.'

Ash looked to N, realising what he was saying, but fell silent. He could clearly see that N looked like he was lost in thought about something, remembering something that happened. His eyes looked sad, and for a moment Ash wondered whether something bad had happened to him while following Team Plasma one time.

'N, did you-' Before he finished his sentence, N suddenly looked up, smiling brightly.

'There is one downside to using the pool, though.' he told him, eyes focused on the younger boy.

'Oh? What is it?' Ash asked, interested. Maybe this would lead to what N had been so sad about.

'I actually get really tired after using it. It completely exhausts me for the rest of the day, sometimes a little of the day after as well.' Now that N had mentioned it, Ash saw that he was right. The older teen had started to look a bit sleepy, and he now realised why N had been looking like he was getting undressed.

It had been hours since their arrival at the house, and if using the pool made N tired, then he had probably been looking forward to sleeping, seeing as Ash, Iris and Cilan were outside with the Pokemon and unlikely to talk to him.

'Ah...so you were getting undressed.' Ash realised, laughing awkwardly at his mistake. 'Sorry, you're probably really tired.'

'No, no, it's alright.' N insisted, though he was looking visibly tired. 'I'm happy to talk with you.'

'I had better get back to Pikachu. He might have made a new friend with the Pokemon here!' Ash said as he was leaving.

N watched as Ash left, eyes alight with thoughts of his Pokemon.

Now that Ash was gone, that meant he could finally try and sleep.

 _I would have rather not thought about confronting Team Plasma right before I sleep,_ he thought, the white jumper and shoes soon abandoned. _He...he had a point. It's not always possible to just move on from an injury...but I just pushed through them. I didn't have much of a choice at the time._

His eyes slipped shut as the exhaustion finally overtook him. _I just hope I actually manage to sleep..._

 _It tends to be hard to get enough sleep when thinking of situations like those..._


End file.
